A 15-year-old boy shot his mother to death in a darkened movie theater, Kansas City police said, apparently using a handgun he had taken from his father.
Paula Clouse died in her seat late Tuesday afternoon at the shopping mall theater just as the Mel Brooks comedy "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" was about to begin.A motive was not known, said Capt. Vince McInerney, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department. He said authorities were not able to interview the boy because of juvenile regulations.
The boy's father and grandparents arrived shortly after the shooting, and witnesses said the father indicated he and Clouse, 43, were in the process of divorcing.
McInerney said the gun was recovered.
Blake Sterzinger, one of those who helped capture the boy, said he indicated he had stolen the gun from his father.
"I don't know why I did it," Sterzinger quoted the boy as saying.
"He shouted to call 911," Sterzinger said. "Those were his first words."